TheSouthern.com:
With unemployment rising and more people looking for new and innovative employment opportunities, it is no coincidence that Mary Kay Cosmetics reported a 22 percent increase in its new sales force in the first quarter of 2009 and Avon reported a 51 percent increase in March of its direct sales representatives.
• Don’t swallow all of the promises. If anyone tells you that you can make a six figure salary by working only a few hours a week, they are lying to you. Great salaries take great dedication and much hard work.
• Don’t believe that anyone can be a great salesperson. With lots of training and practice, some people can develop sales skills, but very few can simply purchase a product line and suddenly become a successful sales person.
• Understand how multilevel marketing (MLM) works. Whatever the product line, the top money makers are those who succeed at recruiting others and motivating their recruits to recruit others. If you think you would be good at this, consider it. According to the Direct Selling Association, fewer than 1 percent of all MLM salespeople ever recapture their original investment.
• Be cautious about internet solicitations promising riches by starting your own internet sales business. If fortunes could be made magically by entering a few keystrokes, why do these companies need you?
Photo by jenny downing